6.6 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
This erotic horror film, set in 1905, tells the story of a thief who seeks refuge in a castle owned by two women, Eva and Elizabeth. The women are seductive and teasing, but turn out to be part of a vampiric cult of blood-drinking aristocrats.
Starring: Franca Mai, Brigitte Lahaie, Jean-Marie Lemaire, Muriel Montossé, Jacques MarbeufHorror | 100% |
Foreign | 73% |
Erotic | 31% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.66:1
French: LPCM Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Jean Rollin's "Fascination" (1979) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Indicator/Powerhouse Films. The supplemental features on the release include archival programs with cast and crew interviews; new audio commentary by author and critic Jeremy Richey; alternate scenes; archival promotional materials; and more. In French, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.66:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Fascination arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Indicator/Powerhouse Films.
The release introduces a brand new 4K restoration of Fascination, which is also available on 4K Blu-ray. However, the 4K Blu-ray release does not have a Blu-ray copy of the restoration.
If you read our review of the 4K Blu-ray release, you will see that I like a lot how the 4K makeover looks in native 4K and 1080p. (I have both discs and was able to do plenty of comparisons while also looking at the original release of Fascination that the Redemption label produced in 2012. Also, if I had to choose between the new 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray releases, I would probably go for the 1080p presentation as the slightly more convincing one because some darker areas tend to look a little bit better on it. Why? Because on the native 4K presentation, the HDR/Dolby Vision grades darken the visuals a tad too much for my liking. The rest looks very, very good. I did not encounter any encoding anomalies to report in our review. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).
There is only one standard audio track on this release: French LPCM 1.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.
While testing the Blu-ray release, I did not encounter any encoding anomalies. The text below was included in our review of the 4K Blu-ray release of Fascination.
Fascination benefits from a very interesting and very atmospheric soundtrack, so an excellent lossless track can make the viewing experience pretty special. The LPCM 1.0 track is outstanding and ensures precisely that kind of experience. It is very healthy, too. On the previous release of Fascination from the Redemption label, the audio track is very good, but it has some minor pops and imperfections that are rather easy to hear. The English translation is excellent.
Brigitte Lahaie correctly points out that in some areas the acting is pretty rough, while assistant director Natalie Perrey confesses that the editing could have been managed far more convincingly. But I do not think that these and all other flaws that are attached to them erode the quality of the atmosphere, which is the greatest strength of Fascination. In fact, as odd as it may sound, I think that these flaws are necessary for Jean Rollin's films to appear different from all the other genre films that deal with similar material. Why? Because Rollin recognized the shortcomings of his work and did a lot of creative things to make them appear organic, or at least as far as his vision of cinema was concerned. For this reason, I do not think that bigger budgets, more talented actors, and more experienced cinematographers and editors would have made his films better. Rollin's films are worth tracking down and seeing precisely because they are not great mainstream genre films. In addition to this Blu-ray release, the new 4K restoration is made available on 4K Blu-ray. However. the 4K Blu-ray release does not have a standard Blu-ray copy of it. RECOMMENDED.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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